This invention relates to boat lifts, and more particularly to a lift which will completely invert a boat as it is lifted so that the boat can be stored upside-down.
It is common to provide lifts at dock sides for relatively small boats and canoes which permit the boat or canoe to be lifted out of the water for storage. Such lifts are also used for lifting small boats onto larger boats.
Existing lifts are of two general types. One type employs a series of ropes or straps and pulleys which will simply lift the boat vertically out of the water and hold it at a level above the water. An example of such a lift is found in U.S. Pat. No. 555,018 issued Feb. 18, 1896 to Pike.
A second basic approach is exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 3,216,388 issued Nov. 9, 1965 to Smith. In the Smith patent a side rail or gunwale of the small boat is hingedly connected to the transom of the larger boat and a rope or line is attached to the opposite side rail or gunwale so that the small boat can be pulled out of the water toward the transom and stored in a generally side-wise position. A variation of this approach is found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,690,282 issued Sept. 12, 1972 to Busby in which the rope extends beneath the boat from the point of hinge attachment and then over the opposite side rail so as to cradle the boat.